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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27539752">Painted Girls</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/conceptofzero/pseuds/conceptofzero'>conceptofzero</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Infinity Train (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:42:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,507</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27539752</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/conceptofzero/pseuds/conceptofzero</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Simon keeps vanishing without warning. Grace wants to know what he's up to. The answer isn't what she expected.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Simon Laurent/Grace Monroe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>46</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Painted Girls</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Simon's disappeared on her and that's kind of pissing Grace off. Usually it wouldn't matter, because like, who cares if he leaves to go work on his book or his figures or go pee or whatever. But usually when he does that stuff, he tells her. Instead, he's spent the last few weeks slinking off without saying a word to her. It's not like Simon, and she hates every time she turns to the right to tell him something or make a joke or whatever, to just poke fun at him, and he's not there.</p>
<p>Plus there's the other thing, the part that's really pissing her off if she's honest. It's not just that he vanishes. It's that he shows up fifteen to twenty minutes later and looks nervous and distracted, but he acts like nothing happened at all. She's cornered him about it twice now and he won't tell her, even after she made a few choice remarks about replacing him with a new second in command who actually takes this seriously. He got huffy, like Simon always gets when she's right and he knows it, but he still hadn't told her what he was doing. </p>
<p>It's not like this is the first time Simon's behaviour has changed. There was that whole month when he was glued to her side and she realized he was jealous about how friendly she was being to Joey and he was probably definitely afraid she was going to replace him. As if. Joey's not even slightly as capable as Simon. The best she can say about Joey is that he's got more fashion sense than Simon, but who doesn't? God, Simon just will not stop wearing hoodies and it's driving her insane. He looks so frumpy in them.</p>
<p>Then there was the time he was a huge jerk when she would go on raids without him, because Grace, raiding is our thing blah blah yam yam yam whatever, the usual stuff. She's always known why Simon was acting weird or jealous or rude before and it's always been so painfully obvious.</p>
<p>
This is the only time she doesn't know why he's doing this or what he's up to and she hates it. </p>
<p>Anyway, he's done it to her again. The sneaky jerk even waited until she was busy looking at Ana's club before he made his move. But Grace has been ready for this, and so when he heads off, she spots him when he's going up the escalator. </p>
<p>"This is really great Ana, but I have to go do something really quick, okay?" Grace smiles her usual well-practiced smile, the one the kids love best, and she gets one of those bright, cheerful grins back from Ana. She's a good kid, even if her number is still way too low. That's okay, they'll work on it. </p>
<p>Grace excuses herself and heads after Simon so she can finally figure out what he's doing and why he won't tell her. After years of sharing everything, she can't imagine anything he wouldn't share with her. He's even forcing her to read his fantasy book which is just, oh my god, it's so boring. If he was going to hide anything, why not that?</p>
<p>Whatever. Grace quickly avoids any of the other kids looking to talk to her and gets up the escalator, climbing it and keeping low so Simon doesn't see her coming and get spooked. Where is he, where is he—</p>
<p>As she reaches the top of the stairs she catches a glimpse of Simon as he heads into his store. Huh? That's where he's been going? Why would he hide something like that? Who cares if he goes back to his store to work on his models or whatever?</p>
<p>There's not much point in staying low once she gets off the escalator, since anyone can see straight through the rails, and Simon isn't even looking back. Grace just moves quickly, running silently along the upper level and quickly coming to a stop just on the other side of his store. She peeks inside.</p>
<p>Urg, Simon's store is so dark. Why did he have to remove most of the lights and take half the bulbs out of the rest? It's just like a depressing little cave in there. At least he usually has a lamp on in his workshop, but even that's turned off. And now that she's looking, she can't see him. </p>
<p>Wait, there's a light coming from under the door in the back of the store. She knows that's where Simon sleeps, though it's been a few years since she was in there. His bedroom is so boring. She's told him she could make it look as nice as her throne room (well, not as nice, but nicer than what he has), but he won't take her up on it.</p>
<p>Grace pops the door open and slips into the store, passing by the shelves of toys and games as she comes to a stop by the door. She presses her ear against it and listens closely. Simon's in there and he's breathing really loudly, but he's not talking to anyone. Is he working on something? Maybe it's a surprise.</p>
<p>She hates surprises.</p>
<p>Opening the door will give away that she's here. But she doesn't need to open the door. Simon's been lazy and there's a tile missing from the roof. That makes this easy. She gives one of the shelves a quick shake to make sure it's sturdy enough, and then she makes her move, leaping up, planting a foot on the shelf to give herself an extra boost and then using that momentum to get into the ceiling, her hands catching the ceiling supports to haul herself up with. </p>
<p>It's even darker and mustier up here in the ceiling. Gross. But she can see the light leaking through the edges of the ceiling tiles in front of her. Grace easily climbs over them, carefully planting her feet on the supports and not the easily breakable tiles. She picks a tile in the middle of the room and ever so carefully begins to ease it up until there's enough of a crack to see through. Grace keeps a hand tight on a support as she lowers herself down and peers into the lit room below to see what Simon's up to.</p>
<p>Simon's sitting on his bed with his pants around his ankles, and he's got his hand on his penis. Grace frowns. What's he doing? Is he peeing in there? That's so nasty, they've got a bathroom downstairs—</p>
<p>No, he's not peeing. She's not sure what he's doing, actually. Simon's got his hand on his penis, but he's just moving it around or whatever. Is it hurt? It doesn't look like he is. But it's not that Grace would even know for sure. Before she met Simon, she'd never seen anybody but herself naked. Grace's parents didn't exactly spend a lot of time with her, but she was always surrounded by tutors and nannies and a whole horde of people desperate to keep Grace from ever seeing something she shouldn't. Even the anatomy book she'd been given had anything 'inappropriate' removed from it. </p>
<p>Getting her period at thirteen had been a nightmare. Simon had known more about it than her and she's never lived that embarrassment down. She is never, ever going to know less than him ever again. Which means she absolutely can't ask him about this, even if he wasn't hiding away and being ultra secret about it.</p>
<p>
Grace looks at Simon more carefully. Whatever he's doing, it isn't painful. He's clearly enjoying it, maybe even enjoying it too much. He's bright red and sweating and he's got his other hand stuffed against his mouth, but she can hear the little sounds he's making and the way his breathing is way too heavy. He's still moving his hand on his penis, stroking it again and again. It clearly feels good to him. It's—</p>
<p>Wait. Wait is this... is this sex? </p>
<p>Grace feels a wave of embarrassment come over her as it clicks and she looks away, nearly dropping the tile as the wave of shame runs over her. Grace has been sheltered, but she's not stupid. Even before she ended up on the train, she knew that was something people did. It's not really something she's thought about for years though, not since she learned to stay away from adults. </p>
<p>Simon's still making those little grunty sounds, like he's in pain. It's super clear he's not. Even though she's dying of embarrassment, she makes herself watch. This is something she has to know about. Simon absolutely can't know more than her. </p>
<p>His fist keeps moving up and down his penis, moving at a pretty steady pace. That's when Grace notices that Simon's got a statue in front of him. She knows exactly what it is, too—it's the boob figure. They found it in Simon's shop when they first took the mall and they both laughed themselves sick over how stupid it was, just this lady in barely any clothes and huge boobs as big as her head. It disappeared after a while and Grace hadn't really noticed, but she figured Simon just got sick of it and wheeled it.</p>
<p>But he's been hiding her back here. It looks like she's not the same, but Grace is too far away to tell what's different about the statue. Simon puts a hand on it, and without the hand covering his mouth, she can really hear how loud he is. It's embarrassing but it's also making her feel weird too.</p>
<p>
Simon chokes, and sometimes sticky comes out of him. Oh that's just—that's just awful. She makes a face as it keeps coming out and Simon keeps squeezing himself until it's finally done. He flops back on his mattress and just lies there for a moment, his penis hanging out of his pants and lying on his thigh. It looks so weird.</p>
<p>Grace stays up in the ceiling, silently watching as Simon finally sits up and cleans up the statue, which he got some of the gunk on. It goes under the bed and gets covered with a sheet. He gets dressed and heads out of the bedroom and into his store. She waits until she's sure he's completely left it and gone out, probably to appear downstairs and pretend like he never vanished.</p>
<p>She shuffles the tile to the side and drops down into Simon's room. It smells kind of funky. Simon's at least kept it sorta clean, though it's really depressing back here. She wrinkles her nose and then kneels down, lifting the sheet to look at the boob statue.</p>
<p>Simon's done what he usually does with the figures he finds, which is repaint it. In this case, he's made it look like... well, like her. Actually, he's done a lot more than that. It's been forever, but Grace can see that Simon's had to change nearly everything about the statue to make it look like her—the colour of her skin, the texture and colour of hair, the shape of her face, even the colours used in the thin scraps of clothing the statue wears. The boobs are still huge though, and Grace ends up looking down at her own fairly flat chest, feeling kind of miffed. </p>
<p>So Simon was touching himself to his little weird statue that now looks like Grace? And she remembers years ago, when the two of them kissed to try it out. They'd laughed afterwards about how dumb and gross it was. His mouth had been so wet and his tongue had felt slimy. Had Simon been lying when he said he hated it?</p>
<p>She can't stay here too long. The Apex is going to be looking for her. Grace quickly puts the statue away and leaves the way she came in. And after that, she's too busy to think about the statue (much) or Simon (sort of).</p>
<p>At least, until the day is over and the Apex heads off to sleep. A few kids always stay up as guards, just in case adults come stumbling into the train and need to be chased off. Simon retreats back to his store and Grace goes to hers, making her way into the Throne Room and back to her own bedroom.</p>
<p>Years ago, when they first took this car for their own, Grace and Simon had spent the better part of a day hauling the huge princess bed frame to her store, along with the mattress and box spring. By the time they moved Simon's, they'd settled on something easier to take apart. She doesn't regret her choice and as Grace finally gets a chance to strip down and climb in, she's glad for it, and the privacy the drawn canopy gives her. Soft lights twinkle above her head and she lies on the sheets.</p>
<p>She thinks about Simon. Grace doesn't mean to, but it happens anyway. She's absolutely sure that what he was doing counts as sex, and Grace feels betrayed that he's figured out more than her. Did he ask an adult about it? Or was it just easier for him because he's got a dick and all he had to do was stroke it? She feels absolutely certain that anything he can do, she can too, but she doesn't know exactly where to start. </p>
<p>Does she even want to start? The kiss had been wet and awkward. She tries to think about kissing him again and makes a face. Yeah, she bets it would be just as wet and gross as last time. And some goo or something had come out of him. Would her body do that too? </p>
<p>Not for the first time, Grace wishes her parents' inattention had extended to other things, like letting her watch R rated movies or reading trashy romance novels so she knew what to expect. Everything she knows about sex is clinical and boring and next to nothing. She knows girls get pregnant and you have sex to do it, and it involves the penis going into a vagina and that's basically it. The book had talked more about how babies develop and grow up, and it still hadn't exactly spelled out what stuff like menstruation was, or all the acne (ew) or the way your body aches when you grow a few inches.</p>
<p>It sure hadn't mentioned sex by yourself. Grace rests a hand on her belly and slowly snakes it down to touch her vulva. It's curly and warm, and the hair on it is soft as she runs her fingers over it. She thinks about Simon touching himself and she awkwardly copies the motion, her hand running up and down her mound.</p>
<p>
It just feels weird and awkward. Grace sits up a little and peers down at her vulva. Maybe she's got to touch the insides? She presses a few fingers inside her vulva and rubs them on the inside. </p>
<p>It's just sticky and damp. After a few times rubbing her fingers on herself, it starts to dry up. Maybe she's doing it wrong. She tries to sit up and do it, but that just makes it worse. Grace rolls onto her side, then onto her stomach. Her vagina just starts to feel like she's giving it rug burn, or like she's wearing super uncomfortable underwear.</p>
<p>Fine, it's not happening tonight. She sighs and takes her fingers out. They're covered in something that makes them kind of tacky, like she's gotten marshmallow goop all over them. Grace gives them a sniff but it's just as she feared: they smell like her vagina. She rolls out of bed and heads over to wash her hands. She bets Simon is touching himself right now and he's having a great time and she's stuck here feeling raw and stinky.</p>
<p>There's a mirror over the sink and she looks at herself in it, staring at her boobs. Grace gives the right one a poke and frowns. She always felt glad they hadn't come in heavy and she could just wear tight sports bras. But she can't stop thinking about the boob figure painted up to look like her, except with a huge chest instead.</p>
<p>Is that what Simon secretly wishes for? Does he think about her while he's having sex? </p>
<p>It's weird to look in the mirror and admit that she's closer to being an adult than she was to being a kid. She doesn't feel like an adult, not in the ways that make them adults. Grace is still fun and daring, and she can't imagine ever acting the way her parents did, ever. She also can't imagine being like the other adults she's seen on the train. Most are so sad and pathetic, or else creepy and weird. She and Simon aren't like them. They need a better word to describe them, to make it clear that they're better, they're different, they're never going to be like them—</p>
<p>Urg, whatever, she's just distracting herself now. Grace shuts the light off and heads back to her bed to flop in it. She feels really pissy that she couldn't figure this out on her own, and she doesn't want to ask Simon. He'll never let her live it down. And anyway she's got the higher number, she's the leader of the Apex, she doesn't need his help—</p>
<p>Unless... </p>
<p>Grace rolls onto her back. She's got the advantage here, right? Grace saw what Simon does to himself to have sex and he doesn't know how she knows. So... maybe she can use that. She can get Simon to come see her alone, and she'll suggest that they do it to each other, play it off like she's doing him a favour. Then she'll get him to tell her what he knows, and if it works, then she'll know what to do to herself and won't need him. And if he fails, then she can hold that over him and absolutely blow his mind by doing it to him, and he'll never be any the wiser.</p>
<p>It's a really good plan. But would it make it awkward if she does this? Sex is a big deal, right? And Simon's clearly embarrassed about it or he wouldn't hide it from her.</p>
<p>But it'll probably be like when they kissed, and that didn't change anything. Not really, anyway. Maybe Simon made a weird figure of her but he's still her second in command, he still does what she says. So this will just be that again. </p>
<p>Yeah, it'll be easy. Grace feels better as she yanks the blankets up over her back and settles into sleep, feeling almost a little excited about it. It's been a while since she and Simon had some time with just the two of them. It'll be a little like old times, before the Apex. </p>
<p>It's going to be great and she's going to get back on top and Simon will never, ever know there was something he knew that Grace didn't. </p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Grace doesn't manage to get Simon alone the next day. She doesn't get him the day after either, or the day after that, all thanks to some adults blundering into the mall. They have to chase them off and make sure they put plenty of distance between the Apex and those old weirdos. By the time that's all handled, Grace is too tired to even think about trying to get Simon alone to experiment with him, and anyway her wrist aches a little from all the handsprings so the last thing she wants to do is try rub him off with it.</p>
<p>But luckily she's feeling better the next day and on top of that, the rest of the kids are busy fixing the defenses and getting more weapons ready. When they're in this mood, Grace and Simon don't even need to lift a finger—they'll go ahead and do everything on their own without any help from them. It's pretty impressive and she's almost proud of them, though she knows that this is only because of her. Without Grace, everyone here would still be helplessly relying on the train and hoping not to get eaten by the ghoms or zapped away by the train once you were unlucky enough to have your number hit zero.</p>
<p>Anyway, she's here and everyone's fine, and more than that, Simon's sneaking off to his store like usual. That gives Grace the exact opening she needs. She waits until he's nearly at the doorway before Grace comes up behind him, slinging an arm around Simon's back. "There you are!" </p>
<p>He jolts like he's gotten electrocuted and it's pretty funny. Grace can't help but laugh at Simon, especially at the way he hunches over some when she does.</p>
<p>
"Grace!" Simon's flustered and she knows that he knows that she's caught him. Time to see if he can cover it up. "You uh, you need something?"</p>
<p>"Just wanted to talk to my second in command." She gives him a squeeze and guides him away from the shop, and away from his depressing bedroom. Grace has no desire to do any of this on that mattress on the floor. No thank you. She also knows that's the first place someone will come looking for them (the second being her throne room) and she doesn't want the kids to walk in on them while they're figuring this out. Embarrassing Simon is fun, but not in front of the rest of the Apex. "You know, it's been a while since we stopped by the furniture store. We should go pick something new out for my throne room. Maybe if you're really good, I'll even let you imagine sitting on my throne this time."</p>
<p>"Haha, very funny." Simon still comes with her all the same, staying within reach. None of the kids notice them moving around on the second floor and that's great. It makes it easy for her to steer Simon away from his store and towards the back of the mall. They've trashed a lot of the stores that aren't in use, but it's been worth keeping some places around. The furniture store is the main one she's left untouched, mostly. Every once in a while, they take a bat to some of the uglier chairs or throw them over the railing.</p>
<p>"Was that a joke? Hmmm, I don't think so." She steers him in, past the wreckage near the front and toward the back of the store, where the lights are dim and it's hard to see through the forest of partitions and mock-walls that art and lamps are hung from. "I know you've been desperate to see if it's as comfortable as it looks. It totally is."</p>
<p>"I don't care." Simon is unconvincing. He also frowns as Grace stops them by one of the double beds and she flops on it. Simon puts his hands on his hips. "If you think I'm dragging another bed to your throne room, you're out of your mind. Get some Nulls to do that."</p>
<p>"Urg, absolutely not." She makes a face. Imagine sleeping in something that a null's had their creepy not-hands all over. Grace sits up, arms going behind her back to lie flat on the mattress and prop herself up. "My bed's still perfect. And I don't want to take this anywhere. It's perfect right here."</p>
<p>Simon raises an eyebrow slowly and his arms move off his hips to cross over his chest. "What's going on, Grace?" </p>
<p>"I just thought after the past few days, we deserve a break from everything." She pats the bed beside her, cajoling Simon. "Come oooon, I know you're as tired of everyone as me. Let's stop being the leaders of the Apex for a few hours and just be Simon and Grace again. We can just hang out, relax, chat, that sort of thing." </p>
<p>He's not buying it. So with a calculated casual indifference, she adds, "Or we could touch each other." </p>
<p>Simon doesn't get it, and he just ends up looking confused. "What are you talking about?" </p>
<p>"Don't be coy. I know why you keep sneaking away to your store anytime you get a chance." And when he's still playing dumb about it, she goes ahead and mimes what she caught Simon doing, running her fist around an imaginary shaft. That finally clicks it home for Simon and he gets bright red all over, flustering and blustering. "It's cool! You don't have to flip out. I do it too." </p>
<p>Simon is still sputtering, but that seems to be enough to make him go completely quiet. She swears that the red in his cheeks is spreading all the way down to his hands, because his numbers are glowing even brighter than ever before. When he does speak, it's soft and disbelieving, a quiet— "No way."</p>
<p>Grace turns onto her side and poses like the boob statue is, her head cradled in one hand and the other lying on her hip. "Uh, yeah, duh. It's whatever, y'know? Anyway, I'm always taking care of myself and it's boring sometimes, and I know you probably feel the same way. So why not help each other out? You can do me, and I'll do you." </p>
<p>Simon's eyes are frantic and he's clearly in a panic, but even that isn't enough to stop him from looking at Grace. It's nice, really intense, and she feels pleased by the way Simon greedily runs his eyes over her. She's got this on him. He's weak for her, he's always been weak for her, and he'll always be weak for her too. It feels so good to stand so tall above him. </p>
<p>"Don't mess with me Grace." He leans forward, pressing his hands to the mattress. "You promise you're not messing with me, because if you are—"</p>
<p>"Oh my god, blah blah blah, come on, when do I ever mess with you about something like this? If I was going to tease you, I would have just made fun of how stupid you probably look when you're doing it." She sits back up and pats the bed again. "We deserve something nice after all the work we've been doing. Unless you want to only ever do it by yourself..."</p>
<p>Her words hang in the air. Simon should be crawling over the bed to get near her but he's staying where he is, hands on the mattress. He should be so stupidly happy to get what he wants, and he wants her, right? He made that figure of her. Yeah, okay, she doesn't have a big chest but if that's all he cared about, he wouldn't have changed the paint job and resculpted the face.</p>
<p>What if he doesn't take her up on it? What if he pussies out now and walks out and she's left sitting on the bed looking like a pathetic idiot and then it won't matter that her number is bigger than his because all that's going to matter is that he left her instead of jumping for joy that she was willing to let him touch her even just once.</p>
<p>Grace won't lose. Grace can't lose. And without even really knowing why, she raises her eyebrows and says— "If you're going to leave, can you let Joey know to come up?" </p>
<p>That does it. Good old jealousy strikes again and Simon's whole face changes into a furious sneer. Then he's yanking his sweater over his head and throwing it on the ground, wrestling his shoes off a moment later. "I'm not going anywhere and Joey isn't getting anywhere near you—"</p>
<p>"Oh my god, calm down!" Grace laughs and tucks her legs up to her chest, sliding her own shoes off and setting them on the floor. "I'm just yanking your chain! I don't want to do this with anybody but you."</p>
<p>Simon stops to look at her—oh my god, his tank top is tucked into his pants still. Grace barely stifles a snort. He's the same as when they first met, no matter how much he tries to get away from socks and sandals. What a nerd. And his whole face is bright red. </p>
<p>He's kinda cute like this. Grace lets herself enjoy it for a moment and then moves on, before he can recover. "Hurry up Simon, we've got time but you know some of those kids are going to come looking for us and I do not want to have to explain what's going on. I'll die first." </p>
<p>Grace peels her gloves off next, and then she takes her own shirt off. Simon looks like he's going to faint with all of the blood rushing to his face. Okay, it's not cute anymore, it's just kind of annoying.</p>
<p>"Simon—" The tone in her voice is enough to get him moving again and he scrambles over, unhooking his belts before he yanks his shirt off. His eyes never leave her body and it feels super good.</p>
<p>Okay, well.... time to do this. Grace slides her pants down to her knees, working them off one leg and the next, until she's only in her bra and underpants. It's not the first time she's been mostly naked around Simon, but it is the first time she's been like this in a few years time. It got a little awkward once they started going through puberty. Simon stared a little too much, or always freaked out if she looked at him for too long. </p>
<p>Now he's half naked beside her, sliding his own pants off. He's wearing striped boxers and they're cute, but Grace is finding it hard not to look at the front of his pants and the really obvious bulge there. Oh my god, is he already... did she make him do that, just by asking him to do this? </p>
<p>Wow... that's a powerful feeling. A really good powerful feeling. She feels a warm flush in her chest, and also around her waist. That's a new one. She's never felt that before, not like this anyway.</p>
<p>She stretches out on the mattress and Simon shyly lies beside her. Grace is starting to feel super nervous too, but she does her best not to let any of it show. She's in control here. Simon has no idea that he knows more than her and he's never going to find out. She reaches out to set a hand on his chest. He feels so warm and his body shivers a little as she lets her fingers go over him, and over the small faint scars he's gotten from their time on the train. </p>
<p>"Scared?" She raises her eyebrows at him, pushing the tight feeling in her chest onto Simon instead. </p>
<p>"Of you? Never." He says and then he's leaning in—</p>
<p>Oh. He kisses her. She wasn't prepared for that and her mouth drops open a little. Simon just keeps kissing her, and it's super clumsy and still kind of wet and weird but... it's also kind of nice. Like the last time she did this, she really didn't get the appeal of it. But with Simon's lips on her and how clearly excited he is about it, she can kind of get behind it. Grace copies him, but of course she does it better. She remembers the movies she saw with the endless parade of nannies, most of which ended with a kiss at the end, and she does her best to copy what she remembers about those. Her other hand comes up and she slides it over Simon's shoulder, holding onto him as she tips her head the other way. </p>
<p>Simon's arms totally grab onto her waist and pull her tight against him. At first, all she feels is his body, skinny and warm against hers. It feels so strange against her, even though she always has her arm slung over him, or around him, even though they're always leaning against each other. But he's always got that thick hoodie on these days, and it's a casual touch, the kind of thing she gives without thought and receives without even really noticing. It's impossible to ignore his chest against hers, only her sports bra separating them. It's the same with their hips, though not the same. That's when she notices the other thing.</p>
<p>
His penis is pressed against her, and it's poking at her hip. It's hard instead of soft, and warm, even through his underwear and Grace can't help it, she laughs into Simon's mouth, overcome with a fit of near hysterical giggles. He freezes up with his arms still around her, his whole body tense. </p>
<p>Simon clearly thinks she's laughing at him. She quickly kisses him again and though she feels another fit of giggles threatening to take over, she doesn't let them slip out. She doesn't pull away either, letting her body stay against his. It's funny that his penis is hard, but he's clearly sensitive about it. Grace lets her hands slide up to work his hair out of his ponytail so she can comb her fingers through it, just like she did when they were young and he used to have trouble sleeping through the night.</p>
<p>Grace draws back from the kiss but her forehead stays against his, still stroking her fingers over his soft hair until he starts to relax again. His eyes are a little scared when she meets them and Grace holds his gaze. It's easy to make a promise to him. "I'm not going anywhere."</p>
<p>Grace isn't that null cat. She won't abandon Simon. She saved him and he's saved her, and they're going to be with each other until they get rid of the false conductor and take this train back, or until they die.</p>
<p>Simon's body sags a little against her and he just wraps his arms tight around her waist and hugs her against him, his chin resting on her shoulder. He's so warm. Why did they stop sleeping in the same bed? Her arms wrap tightly around his back and Grace sighs, feeling her own body relax too. </p>
<p>He says something soft, too soft for her to hear, and just as she's about to ask, Simon draws back. "Okay. Get on your back. I'm going to rock your world."</p>
<p>"Oh yeah?" Grace raises her eyebrows but she does what he wants, flopping on her back. Simon grabs the pillows off the bed and makes her sit up, cramming them under her shoulders so she's a little propped up. Then he moves so he's kneeling between her legs. Grace spreads her thighs to make room for him and she can feel her cheeks starting to burn. It's already feeling different than when she was by herself, trying to rub her vagina in her bed. Her body feels warm all over. "And how do you know what to do? There's no way you were doing this before you got onto the train."</p>
<p>"If you actually read any of the books we ever found, you'd know lots of things we didn't learn before we got on the train," Simon says and Grace just blows a raspberry. Books are so boring. She already read a million of them before she came here, so why would she ever want to force herself to read another one in her life? She knows everything that's really important and everything else is just boring adult stuff that's never going to apply to her. Simon rolls his eyes and his hands settle on her hips, fingertips sliding under the elastic of her underwear. "And I've read a whole lot on this particular subject."</p>
<p>"Oh please, there's no way the train would give you books on sex." Though maybe it would. The train is so strange sometimes. One car might be aimed at little kids, with bright, colourful nulls who insist on teaching a lesson about friendship or whatever, while the next would be filled with monsters ready and willing to tear you to shreds or suck your life right out of you. There had been more than a few cars that had libraries and the mall did have a bookstore. Maybe there was saucy stuff here all the long that Simon never told her about. </p>
<p>Simon just smirks at her and rolls her underwear off of her. Grace has to lift her hips to make it easy and then there she is, no underwear on, her vagina just out in the open. The pillows have her propped up so she can see everything, including the way Simon's already red face goes just an even darker and deeper shade of red as he looks at her. She feels embarrassed and defensive. If he says anything about the way it looks or the hair down there, she's going to scream at him. </p>
<p>"You're so beautiful," he says, and Grace can tell that he means it from the way his voice sounds. She has to look away from Simon, her heart pounding so hard in her chest that she can barely hear his voice. How can he make her feel like this? This is Simon, he's a total geek, and he's making her act like she's the one with a crush. When she looks back—when she can look back—Simon's moving to lie down on his belly between her legs. His hands are touching her thighs and his face is close enough that she can feel his breath on her skin. Simon's still looking at her like she's the greatest thing he's ever seen. Maybe she is to him.</p>
<p>
Then he leans forward and kisses her vagina. Grace barely manages to keep from making a sound, shocked by the action. Shouldn't he find it gross? Grace did her best to stay clean and all that, and her vagina always had a smell to it anyway. It wasn't nasty exactly, but it was strong. Simon should be grossed out, because she would be grossed out to be near someone who smelled. But his eyes just close and he's smiling, and then he's kissing her again, his mouth pressing against her sensitive flesh.</p>
<p>She wants to ask him what the hell he's doing, but that would be revealing how little she knows. Is this normal? None of the books ever mentioned this being part of sex. Simon moves his mouth to kiss her right thigh, and then her left, and his hands keep her open wide, her vagina right in front of his face. His hands stroke her thighs and he leans in close, not just pressing his mouth against her, but almost pressing into her—</p>
<p>Simon's tongue licks her and Grace's whole body jolts, shocked by how warm and wet it is. He quickly yanks his head back, eyes snapping open. "Did it hurt?"</p>
<p>"No! It was just... I wasn't ready for it." It didn't hurt even a little bit, it was just really wet. Just like the kissing way. Her face is so hot that she feels like she's going to burn up. "Whatever, I'm fine now." </p>
<p>"You're sure? If it hurt, you'd tell me—" Simon starts acting like she's a baby who'd just let him get away with hurting her and that she wouldn't yank on his hair or kick him or whatever, and Grace blows air out of her nose. "I have to ask!" </p>
<p>"You're boring me to death with asking. Just... come on, if you know what you're doing, then show me." Grace pushes her thighs open wide again, trying to ignore how her heart races as her vagina lips part slightly. What does she look like from his point of view? She really hopes it isn't embarrassing or weird or gross. Don't let it be like staring into someone's open mouth. </p>
<p>Whatever the answer to that, Simon doesn't seem bothered at all. He leans back in again and this time, she's ready for him to put his tongue into her. It's so weird, it's so unbelievably weird. His tongue is so wet and slimy and warm, and he just rolls it over her insides. This isn't what she thought he would be doing to her. Grace assumed he'd do something with his fingers, not his mouth. Can he do this to himself? There's no way he's that flexible. Simon's hands are on her body and his tongue swipes down and up her vagina. Is he expecting her to use her mouth on him? Oh my god—</p>
<p>He touches something in her and Grace's body jolts a little again. This time, Simon's ready and he doesn't yank his head off. He just looks up at her, as if checking to see if she's in pain. </p>
<p>But that wasn't pain that made her jolt. Whatever he touched with his tongue just felt unbelievably good. When she was touching herself last night, it was nothing like this. Her whole groin feels so warm right now and she wants him to touch her like that again. Grace wants to feel that good. </p>
<p>She reaches out and cautiously sets a hand on his head, pushing him to go back to it. "Do that again." </p>
<p>He does. His tongue rolls over her and another little shock goes through her, feeling as nice as the last, and then he just keeps doing it to her, over and over again. Grace quickly forgets that any of this was gross to her. Simon's breath is warm and his tongue touches all the parts of her that feel really good, and after a bit, she starts to move her hips to make the feeling even more intense. And it is. God it feels so amazing. She had no idea that there was a part on your body that could make you feel like this. </p>
<p>Simon's hands crawl up her body, brushing over her hips and stomach, and then he reaches one all the way up, straining to touch the underside of her bra. His fingers can barely touch it, and he's looking at her with big, excited eyes. Oh my god does he want to touch her boobs? They're not big like the ones on the figure.</p>
<p>His face is tight against her vagina and then his lips brush against her, and then in her—</p>
<p>"Simon!" She blurts out his name as he does something and it feels so intense that she can barely think. Her hips jerk forward hard and she realizes that he was sucking on her. Oh my god, how does he know all of this stuff? As soon as this is all done, she's going to make him give her the books that talk about sex.</p>
<p>
He takes his mouth off of her and his face looks wet. Grace did that to him. He looks hopefully at her. "Can I take your bra off?" </p>
<p>"You stay exactly where you are right now." She wraps her legs around his shoulders so he can't go anywhere. But she does give him what he wants and she works her sports bra off, dropping it on the bed. Simon stares at her boobs like they're the greatest thing he's ever seen. God he's embarrassing and she fights not to look away from him, even if his staring is making her feel embarrassed too. Grace squeezes him with her legs. "Simon—" </p>
<p>"Just hold on." He reaches up and graces his fingertips on the underneath of her boob this time. Grace knows what he wants and she sighs loudly, but she sits up and makes it easier for him to touch the full thing. His hand greedily grasps at her, fully cupping her right boob and then giving it a soft squeeze. It feels pretty good, she guesses, especially when he rubs her nipple. It sends a little spark through her, right to her vagina. </p>
<p>Maybe that's the trick. She was only touching her vagina, but Simon keeps touching all of her. Bet her fingers will feel pretty good on her vagina now that she knows what to touch, and also she knows to touch her own body. </p>
<p>Grace wants to know for sure, so she presses a hand down between her thighs, just below his mouth. Her fingers slide into her vagina, and it's not like last time. She's so wet and gooey-feeling, and the sensation is so intense. Her fingers stroke over her vagina, and she finds what Simon was touching before—a little nub of flesh near the front that makes her whole body seize up the moment she presses down. The noise she makes is as involuntary as it is loud, a deep grunt like she just got socked in the stomach, but with pleasure instead of pain. </p>
<p>"Hey, I was doing that!" Simon drops the hand from her boob and pushes her fingers away from the nub, giving her a dirty look before he puts his mouth back on her.</p>
<p>"You snooze, you lose—ah!" Grace doesn't get long to rub it in before he's licking and sucking on the nub again. It feels so good, and the feeling gets stronger and stronger, more and more intense. How big can this feeling even get? Her hips grind forward and she grabs both her boobs, rubbing her nipples. That makes Simon's tongue feel even better, and all she can focus on is the building sensation in her vagina. Her eyes focus on Simon's head between her thighs and the way his long blond hair is falling over her, and the look on his face (or what she can see of him). Simon is being so intense right now, just like when they plan attacks together. </p>
<p>She's never thought much about Simon's looks before, but there's something about him right now that feels different than usual. Maybe it's the way he's making her feel. Maybe it's because of how he's looking at her. His eyes are so serious and his mouth keeps working over that sensitive nub, and she feels a thrill run all through her body. It's nearly the same feeling she gets when they take a train car apart and bring all the loot back here. Nearly like the feeling she has when the numbers on her arm go up.</p>
<p>This must be what it feels like to be the conductor, the real one, to have so much power and to be so strong—</p>
<p>Simon's fingers dig into her body and the feeling builds. It's suddenly so intense that it nearly hurts and she cries out, squirming around in his hands. But Simon doesn't loosen his grip, and the feeling boils over so hard and so quick that Grace is left gasping and nearly shouting. It feels so, so amazingly good and she can't even think. Her thighs just shake and her body arches on the bed, and she feels stuck there forever in the feeling of pure pleasure. Then her body falls flat and she just writhes as little pulses keep going through her, again and again. Simon keeps licking her and it nearly hurts, but when she pushes on him, he stays right where he is.</p>
<p>Another of those amazing feelings happens. Her face is screwed up and she thinks of spying on Simon in the ceiling and watching him go through this. Does she look as ugly as he did? Grace tries to relax her face but she can't and it scrunches right back up the moment he sucks on her nub and she swears her whole vision just goes white. "Simon, Simon, Simon—" </p>
<p>This time, he finally backs off of her, raising his head. The whole bottom half of his face is just covered in wetness and Grace feels so, so embarrassed. She didn't mean to do that to him. In her panic, she tries to think of something to say, and she very nearly blurts out that she did it to him because of what he did to the boob statue that looks like her. But if she says that, she'll have to admit that she saw the statue, and what he did to it, and that she was in the ceiling—</p>
<p>
"Wow," Simon says instead, and he scrambles up the bed to kiss her. It's super messy, especially since his face is all sticky and wet, and he smells like her vagina. But unlike before, the kiss actually does feel more nice than wet. Her vagina clenches when their lips meet, and again when he puts a hand on one boob and squeezes. He presses himself against her, kissing and touching, and she drapes her arms around his back. </p>
<p>It's only when he starts making those soft grunty noises again does Grace realize he's rubbing against her, and specifically he's rubbing his penis on her. It's hard like it was the first time, and she can feel something wet smearing against her skin. Is he... oh he is, he's going to make a mess all over her. </p>
<p>He's got a hand on her boob and his thumb rubs over one of her nipples. Simon breaks the kiss, his pupils big and dark. "I want to come on your chest." </p>
<p>What? Grace doesn't know what he means by that. She's gotten this far along not letting it slip how little she understood and she refuses to back down now. Anyway, Simon did a really good job here, and she's pretty sure she can do this for herself in the future, so she might as well give him something. "Just this once."</p>
<p>Simon's scrambling up the moment she says yes, wrapping his hand around his penis. He straddles her stomach, stroking himself. She watched from the ceiling before but she's close this time, she can see exactly the way he's using his fist, hips jerking forward into it as his hand moves up and down his penis. The tip is shiny and damp with something, and his eyes are locked on her chest. Simon's still got his other hand on one of her boobs, stroking and rubbing her. It feels good, and she's going to do that for herself later, but also oh my god this is so embarrassing too. </p>
<p>He's totally going to make a mess on her chest, like he did on the statue. And even though Grace is way, way smaller than the statue, Simon is looking at her like she's the greatest thing he's ever seen. Maybe the size doesn't matter as much. </p>
<p>"Simon." She sets a hand on his hip, stroking a thumb over his skin. "You really like them, don't you?" </p>
<p>"Yeah," he chokes out, his voice straining, "You're so pretty, Grace. Nobody in this whole train holds a candle to you." </p>
<p>Grace knows she's pretty, but she likes hearing it anyway. She feels a soft throb down in her pelvis and her vagina squeezes as she watches Simon's fist move even faster. He wants her so much. Simon is falling apart over her, and she loves it. It's right where he belongs, firmly under her thumb, aware of exactly how much better she is than every other person here. But she'll throw him a bone, and she reaches out, brushing her fingers over his number. "That's right. It's just you and me, Simon, and nobody else could ever match us." </p>
<p>His whole body shudders and his face twists up again. It's an ugly look, but it's pretty satisfying too. She did this to him. Grace made him fall apart and she didn't have to do anything. All she had to do was be here and let Simon acknowledge how much better she was in every single way. </p>
<p>The liquid that comes out of him is thick and white, and it's warm as it splatters on her boobs. It's gross. Urg. He better be super thankful she said yes to letting him do this to her but she wasn't joking—she's only letting this happen once. He's also super heavy on her chest. Grace still remembers when he was light enough that she could easily push him over with a single hand. Now she's not sure how easy it would be to shove him off. </p>
<p>Simon’s bent over her, his chest heaving and his hair plastered to his forehead. He’s still looking down at her with those big soft gooey eyes, like she’s the most precious thing he’s ever seen. It’s like, you know, it’s good. This part of it is pretty good. </p>
<p>But also now the stuff on her chest is getting a little cold and it’s getting super nasty. Grace has given it a try and decided that while she likes feeling good, she’s really not into all of the sticky fluids. She gives Simon’s chest a light push. “Okay, you’re done, get off the ride.” </p>
<p>Alright, alright.” Simon goes without Grace needing to give him a super hard shove or anything. He climbs off of her and flops beside her on the bed. Grace grabs one of the pillows and yanks the case off, using it to wipe off her chest, and then she uses another part to wipe up the wet stuff between her legs. Simon seems to be fine since he got her all messy, which must be nice for him. He turns onto his side, raising his eyebrows and smirking, which looks really dorky with his face. “If you’re selling tickets, I’d go for another round.” </p>
<p>Grace just laughs, reaching out to flick Simon in the forehead. “Oh my god, you’re sooooo funny. Wow, I’ve never heard anything that clever ever before.” </p>
<p>He scowls and rubs his forehead, but it doesn’t last long. Simon’s scooting closer in no time, propping himself up a little on his forearms. “But seriously Grace, we could do it again. We could do more, too…” </p>
<p>“Yeah, and we could get caught by the rest of the Apex trying to find us and ask us questions.” Grace is already aware that they’ve been away for a little too long. There’s always someone looking for her or Simon, but usually her. They can get away for a little while, but not much longer than this. </p>
<p>And… she isn’t sure she wants more yet. It’s kind of scary to think about having the kind of sex that would involve Simon putting his penis inside of her. It’s been a long time since she read any books on it, but she knows that kind of thing makes babies—and Grace doesn’t want that. That’s adult stuff, and complete nightmare adult stuff to boot. </p>
<p>“Come on, just a little more…” Simon reaches out and rubs his hands down her sides, then up again to cup her boobs and squeeze them. It does feel pretty good, and when she’s alone tonight, she’ll do this to herself. </p>
<p>But she’s not doing it now. Grace puts her hands on Simon’s wrists and pushes them down, back onto his body. “Don’t be clingy Simon, it’s a bad look.” </p>
<p>She turns her back to him, finding her clothes on the floor and sliding them back on. Simon’s being slow and when she glances over her shoulder, she can see him pouting. Urg, she hates it when he’s like this. </p>
<p>Grace turns the charm back on, sitting on the side of the bed and setting a hand on Simon’s bare thigh, giving him a soft squeeze. “We’ll do this again later. We just have other things to do right now. And you really don’t want Joey coming up here and getting the wrong idea. This is something only for you and me, and nobody else. It’s our little secret.” </p>
<p>Those are the magic words. She watches the tension run out of him. “Yeah, it’s ours. Nobody else gets to see you like this.” </p>
<p>“Nobody else gets to know anything about us, but us.” And she gives Simon another kiss, a quick one. Grace doesn’t want him trying to go for more when they need to go. And she doesn’t want herself to get greedy either. She needs to make sure Simon never, ever thinks she needs him more than he needs her. The day that happens is the day it’s all over. </p>
<p>When she breaks the kiss, she gives Simon another smile and then slides off the bed, heading out to the front of the store. That gives her time to find one of the few unbroken mirrors to check herself out in, making sure she looks fine. All the sweating smeared her apex line and she roots through the cosmetic counter until she finds a tube of red, touching herself up until she looks as fresh and crisp as ever. </p>
<p>Nobody would look at her and think she and Simon had messed around. That’s exactly the way she wants it. And when Simon comes to join her, she’ll touch him up too, and they’ll head back out of here with no one the wiser about it all—not even Simon. </p>
<p>That’s just the way Grace likes it.</p>
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